Jesse Sene-Lefao (born 8 December 1989) is a

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

international

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

footballer who plays as a or forward for the Sheffield Eagles in the RFL Championship. Sene-Lefao has previously played for the

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...

and the

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby leag ...

in the

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

, plus Castleford Tigers ( Heritage № 974) in the Super League.

Background

Sene-Lefao was born in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

, New Zealand.

Early years

Sene-Lefao is nephew of West Tigers centre

Tim Simona Tim Simona (born 20 November 1991) is a Samoan international rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles in the NSW Cup and previously Wests Tigers in the NRL. Early years Born in Auckland, New Zealand, S ...

, and cousin of

North Queensland Cowboys The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest town in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Sinc ...

centre Matthew Wright. Sene-Lefao is of Samoan descent. Sene-Lefao played his junior football for the

Penrith Brothers Penrith Brothers Rugby League Football Club is an Australian rugby league football club based in Penrith, New South Wales which was formed in 1968. It was initially known as St. Dominics RLFC but was rebranded as Penrith Brothers RLFC in 2003. O ...

before being signed by the

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penrit ...

. Sene-Lefao played for the Panthers'

NYC New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

team in 2008 and 2009, scoring 15 tries in 38 games.

Playing career

2013

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, Sene-Lefao joined the

. He made his

debut in the opening round of the season against the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite c ...

Suncorp Stadium Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...

, playing off the interchange bench in Manly-Warringah's 22–14 win. Sene-Lefao played his 2nd and last match for the year in round 8. Jesse Sene-Lefao

Sene-Lefao spent most of the year playing for the team's

New South Wales Cup The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserv ...

team.

2014

Sene-Lefao was selected in Manly's inaugural 2014 NRL Auckland Nines squad. He made his international debut in May for

in the

test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

against Fiji at

Penrith Stadium Penrith Stadium (known commercially as BlueBet Stadium) is a rugby league and association football stadium located in Penrith, New South Wales, Australia. The 22,500 capacity venue is the home ground for the Penrith Panthers who play in the Na ...

. Sene-Lefao played off the interchange bench in Samoa's 32–16 win. Soon after, Sene-Lefao re-signed with the Manly-Warringah club on a two-year contract. In round 13 against the

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilit ...

Brookvale Oval Brookvale Oval (also known by the commercial sponsorship name 4 Pines Park) is a sporting ground located within Brookvale Park at Brookvale, New South Wales, Australia. The ground is owned by Northern Beaches Council and is primarily used by th ...

, Sene-Lefao scored his first NRL career try in Manly's 32–10 win. It was the sole try he scored from 25 matches in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. At the end of the season, Sene-Lefao was a late selection for Samoa in the Four Nations after Suaia Matagi was selected in the

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team ( Māori: Tīma rīki motu Aotearoa) has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of ...

squad.

2015

Sene-Lefao was again part of the Manly

Auckland Nines The NRL Nines is a rugby league nines competition, normally held during the NRL preseason each year. It was initially held in Auckland, New Zealand, between 2014 and 2017 before going on hiatus. Returning in 2020, hosting duties moved to Perth ...

squad in 2015. He scored two tries from his 11 matches in 2015. On 9 October, Sene-Lefao signed a two/year contract with the

, starting from 2016 after he was released from his final year of his contract with Manly.

2016

Sene-Lefao played 6 games for the

in 2016. He was a vital squad member for Cronulla-Sutherland in 2016, filling in for captain Paul Gallen during the semis, and the injured Sam Tagataese towards the end of the season. Although he did not play in Cronulla's 2016 drought breaking premiership win. On 21 October 2016, Sene-Lefao signed a two-year contract with Castleford Tigers.

2017

Sene-Lefao played in the

2017 Super League Grand Final The 2017 Super League Grand Final was the 20th official Grand Final championship-deciding game of the Super League XXII. It was held at Old Trafford, Manchester on 7 October 2017, kick off 18.00. Leeds Rhinos became champions for a record 8th ...

defeat by the

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1870 as Leeds St John's and play in the Super League, the top tier of English rugby league. They have played home matches at Headin ...

at Old Trafford.

2018

In the 2018 Super League season, he made 17 appearances for Castleford as the club finished third on the table but failed to reach the grand final.

2019

Sene-Lefao played 24 games for Castleford as they finished the Super League XXIV season in 5th place on the table. Castleford reached the second week of the 2019 Super League finals series where they were defeated by Salford 22-0 in the elimination semi-final.

2020

Sene-Lefao made nine appearances for Castleford in the 2020 Super League season. The club finished a disappointing ninth on the table, their lowest finish since 2013.

2021

On 17 July 2021, Sene-Lefao played for Castleford in their

2021 Challenge Cup Final The 2021 Challenge Cup Final was the 120th final of rugby league's Challenge Cup knock-out competition. It took place on 17 July 2021 at Wembley Stadium between Castleford Tigers and St Helens. Background The 2021 Challenge Cup Final was ...

loss against St. Helens.

2022

On 20 December 2021, it was reported that he had signed for

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England, who play in the Championship. Featherstone is a former coal mining town with a population of around 16,000 and Rovers are one of the last "smal ...

in the RFL Championship On 28 May, he played for Featherstone in their

2022 RFL 1895 Cup The 2022 RFL 1895 Cup, known as the 2022 AB Sundecks 1895 Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the third playing of the RFL 1895 Cup, a rugby league football competition for clubs in the United Kingdom. The competition for clubs who play below the top ...

final loss against

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...

References

External links

Castleford Tigers profileNRL profile

SL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sene-Lefao, Jesse 1989 births Living people Castleford Tigers players Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks players Featherstone Rovers players Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent New Zealand people of Tokelauan descent New Zealand people of Tuvaluan descent New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England New Zealand rugby league players Rugby league players from Wellington City Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Samoa national rugby league team players Samoan sportspeople Samoan expatriate sportspeople in England Sheffield Eagles players Windsor Wolves players